These Kind Of Things Are Only Meant For Nightmares
by Let's Call Her The Tarryn
Summary: This is not supposed to happen in real life. Casey has a horrible dream, but it gets much worse when it actually comes true. But the dreams don't stop there. They keep going. And as they do, things get more dangerous for Casey, and those around her. [MAJOR HIATUS]
1. Living Nightmare

The idea of this just kind of came to me, so I thought, 'What the heck.' and wrote it down.

I hope you likey!

Possible Dasey in later chapters. I'm thinking about it.

_x―x_

_Casey walked out into the high school parking lot after school. She stood there for a moment, clutching her bag, while trying to balance a few school books. _Where is Derek, now? _she wondered as she looked around. _He's supposed to drive me home.

_Then she noticed him. He was leaning against his car, chatting with some busted red-head in a halter top. _Typical Derek. He's such an idiot. _She thought. She started to make her way across the lot toward him. That's when she caught a glance of them._

_Two guys. One looked like he was a freshman, maybe a scrawny sophomore. He had scruffy brown hair and some freckles. Casey had never seen him before. The other guy looked older, like a senior. He was wearing a blue trucker hat, and his black hair stuck out in tufts at every angle. Casey didn't recognize him either._

_She was a bit away from them, but she noticed that the older guy looked like he was bothering the smaller one. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but she could hear them talking. Neither one looked happy. Then the older guy shoved the scrawny boy. _

Oh great._ Casey thought, still striding toward Derek, but walking a little slower to see what was going on with the guys. _Juvenile guys pushing and shoving. How typical.

_But then the scrawny boy was shoved again, this time harder. He fell to the ground. But the older guy pulled him back up by his collar, and shoved him against a near-by car. There was fear in the scrawny boy's eyes. Casey clearly heard him start to scream, _"HELP!HELP ME-" But then the older boy seemed to shove into the other boy again, and the scrawny boy's eyes widened, and he let out a gasp.

_Casey had completely stopped walking. She was watching from behind a car. She watched as the older boy stepped away, and gasped at what she saw. He was holding a knife. The scrawny boy dropped to his knees, then fell on his back. He was clutching his gut. His hand was covered in blood that was gushing out of a wound. The older guy quickly dropped the knife, which was covered in blood, and ran off._

_Casey dropped everything, and ran toward the bleeding boy. _"Oh my God, oh my God!" _she said as she knelt down over the boy. His shirt was covered with blood, and some was dripping to the cement beneath him forming a pool under him. Casey didn't know what to do. She touched his arm. He was cold. She checked for a pulse. It was barely there. Then she screamed the only thing she could think. _

**"** Derek!**"**

x―x

"Casey. _Casey. _Casey!" Casey felt someone shaking her. She sat up. She was in her bed. In her room. She couldn't breath, and she was drenched in sweat. She looked to see that Derek had been the one shaking her.

"It was just a dream...thank God, it was just a dream." Casey panted.

"Yeah, well Nora sent me up hear to wake you up. You need to get ready for school." Derek said. Then he walked out of her room, closing the door behind him.

Casey sat on her bed for a bit. She wiped sweat off of her forehead before making her way to the bathroom to get ready for school. She brushed her teeth and got dressed. She tried to push the dream away, but it stuck to her. Most nightmares scared Casey, but when she woke up, she was fine, but this one...it disturbed her. It wasn't even one of the worst she'd had, but yet it replayed in her mind over and over.

Casey made her way downstairs to grab a quick breakfast. She wanted to get the day started. Maybe if she was preoccupied at school she wouldn't think about the dream.

"I heard you, you know." Casey heard an all to familiar voice from behind her as she was looking for her favorite granola bars in a cabinet.

"Excuse me?" she said, not bothering to turn around, instead continuing to search for the granola bars.

"You sort of yelled my name while you were asleep. I was trying to wake you up, and you yelled my name." Derek said.

"That's because I was having a_ nightmare_." Casey said sarcastically.

"A nightmare with me in it...yeah that fits." Derek said. He reached past her and grabbed a box out of the cabinet.

"This what you're looking for?" he asked. He was holding the box of granola bars. It had been right in front of her face, and she hadn't noticed it.

"You wanna tell me what's on you're mind, MacDonald? Because you seem out of it. And when you were asleep, you looked _really _awful. Must have been one bad dream."

"I don't want to talk about it, Derek." Casey said, grabbing the box from his hands.

Derek held up both of his hands in mock surrender.

"Contrary to what you think, MacDonald, I can be nice, and I can care. I'm not a _total_ Grinch." he said before sauntering out of the kitchen.

Casey tore open a granola bar and took a bite, leaning against the counter. Not even a nice Derek shook the ever-playing dream in the front of her mind.

x―x

Casey walked out of her French class into the hallway flooded with students. She stepped in and let the current of students carry her toward he locker.

She had had a pretty good day, so far. After her first class, her dream was momentarily pushed aside.

Casey spotted her locker and stepped toward it. She had so many books on her she wanted to unload a few before heading to her next class.

"Hey." Casey heard Derek, _again._ Behind her, _again. _

"What do you need, Venturi?" Casey asked, slightly annoyed.

"What, I can't stop to converse with my_ favorite _step-sister?" he asks, sounding more like himself than he did earlier, because this time his words were dripping with Derek sarcasm.

"Derek." Casey said, tiredly.

"Fine, I needed to know if you finished your English report, because-"

"Derek, you should know better than to ask me. Go ask one of your busted blond followers." Casey cut him off, closing her locker door.

"Ah, see, I would do that, but it's very unlikely that I'd get as good a grade from them as if I ripped off your paper." he said with a quirky smile.

Casey rolled her eyes as she started to walk away. Then she turned back to look at Derek.

"The answer is no, Derek." she said with a smile of her own. Then she turned back around to walk away, but she knocked into someone, sending them both to the floor.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry." the boy she knocked into said.

"It's no problem. It was my fault, really-" Casey said. She began to get up, but then she got a look a who she bumped into.

_Holy shit._ she thought.

The boy she bumped into was just a boy. She had never see him before..._no._ She _had_ seen him before. But not like this.

The boy she bumped into. The boy she watched scurry off shyly into the crowd of students. The boy that left Casey ghostly white, and sitting on the floor of the hallway, with people stepping over and around her...

Was the boy that had been stabbed in her dream.

x―x

Please review!!!!

Thanks!

-Tarryn


	2. Reality Succumbed

Okay, peoples. Here's CHAPTER 2! YAY!

I want to thank everyone who reviewed this story.

You don't know how much it means to me, because it does. It always puts a smile on my face.

And y'all make me want to write more!

I hope you enjoy!

Thanks!

x―x

Casey's breath was shallow, and her heart felt like it was still in the pit of her stomach, where she swore, it had dropped when she saw the boy's face. She probably would have sat there on the hallway floor for a long time if Derek, who had still been by her locker when she knocked into the boy, hadn't come over to her.

"Casey. Casey, get up." he said.

She heard him, but it didn't quite process.

_That was the boy. I know that was the boy. How is this possible?_ Casey thought. Her mind was completely racing. _He was even in the same clothes I saw in my dreams. Jeans. Red shirt. Gray zip up hoodie. I just...there has to be a logical explanation for this...there has to..._

Derek leaned down and shook her shoulder slightly. She gasped, and jumped a bit, startled, even though he had been talking to her. It was like she had been in a trance.

"Case?" Derek asked, hesitantly. When Casey looked up at him she was surprised to see concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm f-fine." Casey said shakily. Derek extended a hand, which Casey took after a second. Then he bent down and gathered the few books she had dropped, and handed them to her.

"Case, you may not believe it, but I'm actually a little worried about you." Derek said, looking into her eyes, as if searching for something within them. "You were being weird this morning, and now..." Derek trailed off.

"I'm fine. I promise. J-just be outside after school so you can drive me home, okay?" Casey said.

"Okay. Are you sure-"

"Really. I'm fine." Casey said.

Derek nodded, and after a couple seconds, turned and disappeared into the crowd of students in the hall.

But the truth was, Casey wasn't okay. She was the complete opposite of okay.

She was shaking, and her breathing was still a little rough. And she had the worst feeling in the world wrapped up in her gut. If she hadn't felt bad earlier, with the dreaming replaying itself in her mind, she certainly felt bad now. It was like a giant shadow had crept over her.

_I want it to be, but this can't be coincidence. _Casey thought to herself.

Suddenly she felt like she had been dropped into her own nightmare.

x―x

Casey rushed out through the schools double door exit, out into the student parking lot.

_God let me be wrong. Let me be crazy. Please... _she thinks to herself, as she looks out into the lot full of cars.

_Nothing...nothing...nothing...nothin- Jesus Christ. _She thinks.

Because, there was Derek, leaning against his car, a sleazy red-head in a halter top drooling all over him.

_No, no, no, PLEASE, no... _she thought, turning a little, hoping not to see what she feared would be there.

_Oh, shit. _Because there was the boy she ran into in the hall. The boy from her nightmare. And there was the guy who had killed him, strolling toward him nonchalantly. Then he reached him.

Casey dropped everything and started running toward the two. Push one has just occurred, and the scrawny boy was on the ground. He was picked up by his collar, about to be pushed up against the car.

And right before he is about to be stabbed, and right before Casey jumped on the older guy, Casey screamed as loud as she could, "Derek!"

It was a bloodcurdling scream, that certainly got Derek's attention.

Casey jumped at the distracted older boy. He stumbled, but threw Casey off him, and she hit the pavement hard.

She opened her eyes to see him take a knife out of the waistband of his jeans. He leaned down toward Casey, to put the knife against her throat, but she got in a kick to his groin, and he stumbled backward.

It stunned him, but he recovered quickly. And he was pissed off. He held the knife, ready to stab her in the chest.

Casey screamed, and closed her eyes, waiting for the blade to rip through her flesh, and for the pain to come. But it didn't come.

She opened her eyes to see that Derek had come behind the attacker and smashed him over the head. They were now in a battle over the knife. She watched as the blade, which is pointed at Derek, inched closer and closer to him...

But somehow Derek managed to get the knife pointed down, and then he pushed himself into the guy, who then toppled over. The knife dropped, and slid away from both boys.

Derek then grabbed _him_ by the collar of his shirt and pulled him up, before delivering a punch across the guys face that sent him to the ground.

That's when she saw the school's campus officers rush through the double door exit. Derek turned, noticing them, too. The attackers original victim had run off into the school to get help after Casey had jumped the guy.

Casey and Derek were both distracted for the tiniest second. But that second was enough time for the guy to jump for the knife and plunge it into Derek's side. He screamed in agony and fell over.

Casey tried to get up and go for Derek, but the guy swung at her with the knife. He was close enough to slice through the material of her shirt, leaving a large gash on her right arm. He then hit her over the head with the butt end of the knife.

That's when the campus officers jumped him.

She watched it all, as if in slow motion. Seconds later, she heard the sirens of an ambulance.

_Oh my God, Derek. _Casey thought.

She tried to stand up, but her legs felt like jelly. She felt herself fall, but never felt the impact of hitting the pavement, because everything went black.

x―x

Okay, it's a little rough, and kinda short, but I tried.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Please review. Remember: It does mean something when you guys take a second to tell me your thoughts.

Peace!

-Tarryn


	3. Flooding Relief

Okay, a third chapter. I'm working on spouting out as many new chapters as I can on my stories. Maybe even start a couple new ones! I've got SO many ideas. I'm serious. It's hard. It's taking a lot of self control to not start thirty new stories! Because I literally could. I have that many story plans! Anyway, I hope you like.

Enjoy!

x―x

Casey's eyes slowly fluttered open. She was dizzy, and her head was pounding in a very extreme fashion. Everything was a little blurry, but when things came into focus a little more she realized she was in a hospital room, on a hospital bed.

_Hospital?_ Casey sat straight up. _Oh my God. _She thought, as everything that had happened flooded back to her. She was completely freaked out, and didn't know what to do.

_Derek! What about Derek! God, I hope that he's okay..._

That's when Lizzie entered her room. Lizzie took one look, and saw her pale sister, and yelled, "Mom! Mom! Casey's up!" Before rushing toward her sister.

"Oh my God, I was so worried!"

Then Casey's mother rushed in. She didn't say anything. She just grabbed Casey and hugged her.

"Ow, ow. Ow." Casey said. Her mom had her arm wrapped around the gash in her arm. She had completely forgotten about it.

"Oh, I'm sorry sweetheart." Nora said, brushing some hair out of her daughter's eyes.

"It's no problem. Where's Derek?" Casey asked quickly.

"What?"

"Derek? Is he okay? He's okay, right?" Casey asked.

"Yes, he's fine. We were just in there. Derek woke up not too long ago. Luckily the knife didn't go very far, so it wasn't very hard to treat."

"Thank God. Where's George, and Marti, and Edwin?"

"George took them home. Marti was falling asleep."

"Oh. Well, do I have to stay here. Derek too?"

"I'm sorry honey, the doctors want to keep you both here, overnight. Him with his stab wound, and they're still checking to see if you have a concussion."

"Oh, it's okay. You guys can go home. I'll be fine. I just want to go see Derek."

"Are you sure? We can stay longer."

"No. I'll be fine. I'm sure you guys are exhausted too. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Okay, bye sweetheart. I'm so glad you're all right." Nora said.

Lizzie leaned in to give Casey another hug, and whispered, "I'm so proud that you're my sister and Derek's my step-brother. You guys are heroes! See you tomorrow. I love you."

Then Nora and Lizzie walked out of the room waving goodbye.

Casey lied back down and put her hand over her forehead.

"Ow." Casey said out loud. _There must be a bruise or a cut on my forehead from where I got hit with the knife. _Casey realized.

Casey lied there for a while, the wheels turning in her head.

_I can't believe that just happened...but it did. I-Derek and I saved someone! And..and I dreamed it all! I saw it happen before it did! How is this possible? How...how...was it a premonition? I mean, I never...wow..._

Casey was tired but she was still happy that she had helped save someone. But she still had this horrible feeling twisting in her stomach. Yes, she had seen something happen before it did. But it was something bad. Something dangerous. _Very_ dangerous. She and Derek had almost been _killed_. And she had a sinking feeling that thing's had been irreversibly changed in her life, and that there was no going back.

_I hope this isn't going to be a regular thing, because I don't think I could handle that._

After a little more laying down, Casey sat up, and headed for the door. She needed to find Derek.

She stepped out of her room, and walked around a bit. It didn't take her long to find Derek's room, since it wasn't very far from her own.

She stepped in, and her heart dropped when she saw him. Not because of the way he looked. But just because she felt so awful for pulling him into this.

"Casey!" he said when he saw her. He actually sounded happy to see her. And she was definitely happy to see him. For some strange reason.

She walked over to his bed and sat on the edge near him. She leaned down and gave him a small hug, making sure not to touch where he had been stabbed. And that's when the tears started.

Casey thought she might cry, but when she had walked into the room she didn't feel like she was going to burst. Then she hugged him, and now the tears were uncontrollable.

"I-I'm s-so s-s-sorry!" Casey managed to say through all of her tears.

"Case. Case, no. I'm okay! And you're okay! And the guy, the guy you _saved_ is okay!"

"I d-didn't s-save him. You did." Casey said.

"You went after the guys. You did!"

"W-why are you being s-so nice?"

"Do you really think I'm that much of a jerk? To be mean after you almost died to save someone. Saved _me."_

"I-I guess not. It's just different." Casey chuckled, wiping tears from her eyes.

After a minute of sitting together in Derek's hospital bed, Derek said,"Case, tell me the truth. What happened today. You were so weird this morning. And then you were even more freaked when you knocked into that boy. The boy that you later saved. Something was going on, and I want to know."

Casey played with her cuticles for a moment, not looking at Derek. And when she did look up, there was so many emotions in her eyes. They were red, and still looked like a few tears would topple from them. But they were also filled with fear and confusion.

"Case. What is it?"

And that's when Casey told him. She explained it all to him. The dream, and how it was what as on her mind that morning. And how she freaked when she knocked into the boy because he had been in her dream. How she rushed into the parking lot after school, fearing that she knew what was about to happen. Casey told him everything.

Derek listened quietly. When Casey was finished, he didn't look any different from when she had begun. He didn't look at her like she was crazy. He didn't laugh. He didn't do anything. And then he looked at her, more serious than Casey had ever seen.

"Well. That just makes you even more special than you were before. And that's not an insult, or an insult within a compliment. It's completely real."

For some reason Casey burst out laughing. She leaned forward and hugged Derek again. Mostly because she was glad that he hadn't called the nurses to drag her to the psychiatric ward.

x―x

Okay, not that great. Kind of fluffy, I guess. But it's an update, right? So it's better than nothing. I will work harder next time! PLEASE review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love.

-Tarryn


	4. Depth Perception

I am _so_ sorry for the long wait. I've been caught up in other stories, and ideas. But I'm working on balancing it all. I was disappointed with my last chapter, and didn't feel like it was my best work, so I hope this one is better.

Enjoy!

x—x

"So what do we do now?" Derek asked Casey.

She had been hanging out in his hospital room for a while. She was still surprised, and totally happy that Derek had believed her about the dream.

"I'm not sure. My mom told me that the doctor's want to keep us here overnight. We should able to go home tomorrow, once-"

"That's not what I'm talking about, Casey." Derek said.

"Well, then what do you mean?" Casey asked hesitantly. For some reason she felt like her heart was about to drop into her stomach. The first thing that popped into her head was that he wanted to talk about the hug.

_Why the heck would he want to talk about a meaningless hug? ...Maybe it wasn't meaningless to him. Was it meaningless to me? Wait, of course it was meaningless. What am I thinking? Maybe I do have a concussion..._

"I was talking about your dream."

Casey's heart stopped beating as fast as it had been, but it still dropped slightly. Knowing that it had made her want to shake herself.

"Well, I mean, what can we do. It was just one dream-"

"That saved someone's life." Derek said.

"And almost cost us ours. _Yours._" Casey whispered.

"That's not even the point."

"Well, then what is?" Casey asked.

"I mean, what if you have more?"

"That's not going to happen. It was just some crazy, weird...something. It's not going to happen again." Casey said, but inside the question stirred through her mind. What if she did have another dream?

"I hope not. I don't want anything to happen to you." Derek said.

Once again, Casey's heart strummed a little faster. _Duh, he's your brother. Of course he doesn't want anything happening to you. _Casey thought. Another side of her brain said, _Step-brother, Casey. Step-brother. _Her mind flipped back as if saying, _What does it matter? _She was beginning to confuse herself.

Before either of them could say anything else, a nurse, who seemed to be in her fifties, entered the room.

"Oh, hello Derek. Casey. Casey, I'm sorry, but you need to go back to your room. Your brother needs a little check up. I think your examination is soon, anyway." she said.

"Step-brother." Derek said.

"Pardon me?"

"Oh, I'm her step-brother."

"Oh, my mistake." the nurse said.

"Well, okay. I'll see you later, Derek." Casey said.

She nodded at Derek and the nurse before slipping out of the room. She hesitated a moment, then headed back into her room. She walked around the perimeter of the room-that wasn't blocked by a visitor chair, and table, and hospital equipment- before sitting down on the hospital bed.

Casey's mind went back to what Derek had said. What if she had more dreams? She wasn't sure if she didn't want to or not. She had felt really good when she found that she had helped save someone. But she hadn't felt so great when she was almost stabbed, and Derek actually was.

It wasn't long before Casey got carted off to test if she had a concussion, which they hadn't been able to do earlier, since she had been unconscious. A wave of tiredness washed over her when she was being taken back to her room. She lied down on her bed, completely exhausted.

_Everything was blurred, and sounds seemed muffled. Casey tried to focus on something, but she had a rising sense of panic that she didn't quite understand, nor control. Then she saw her. The only thing that was in focus. A young woman, a nurse. She had blond hair, and bright green eyes, but they were filled with terror. Casey watched as the nurse fell to her knees, gasping for air. A name screamed through Casey's mind. Maisy. A name she did not know. Was it of the nurse she had never seen before? She also didn't know. _

_Casey tried to cry out for help, but it was like trying to scream through a million pillows. No sound would come out, but the frantic muffle of her suppressed scream. And she watched the nurse collapse completely onto the tile floor. Her arm lay limp above her head._

Casey gasped, as her eyes flew open. She sat up slightly, propping her elbows up on the bed. She looked around frantically. She was still in the hospital. She tried to control her breathing, which was erratic, and heavy. _It was just a dream. _She thought to herself, trying to calm down. She just didn't realize how horrible it was that she had 'just a dream.'

She was finally beginning to catch her breath, when a young woman entered her room.

"Hey, sweetie. How are you. Quite a day you've had, I've heard. My name's Maisalind, but you can call me Maisy."

Casey stared at Maisy with her mouth open and heart pounding. _No. No. No. No. No! This isn't happening. _Except she knew it was, and the overwhelming panic she had felt in her dream rose up in her chest.

"Sweetie? Are you okay?" Maisy asked. Casey's panic must have shown in her face.

"You need to get help. We need to get you help!" Casey said loudly. Frantically.

"Excuse me?"

"Some thing's wrong with you. You're going to collapse! You're going to collapse and we need to get you help!" Casey said.

"Casey, you need to calm down. I'm fine, hun. I'm fine." Maisy said, patiently.

"No! No! You're not fine! Someone help! She needs help! She's going to collapse!" Casey began to shout.

Panic began to set into Maisy's eyes, and she began to head toward the door, but several hospital staff workers appeared.

"What's going on?" A man, who appeared to be a doctor asked Maisy.

"Don't just stand there! Help her! Help her now, before she collapses! Before it's too late!" Casey shouted at the doctor. She knew she was getting hysterical, but the shock of another dream mixed with the panic of the woman's trouble, and she burst out, screaming, feeling like she was about to fall apart and cry.

"I don't know what happened. I came in to check up on her vitals, and she was hysterical. She started screaming about me collapsing." Maisy explained.

"You are going to collapse! You need help now! This is a hospital! Get her help!" Casey yelled out.

"I'm fine! I'm not going to-" Maisy stopped, taking in a sharp intake of breath. Her hand flew to her chest, and she winced, squeezing her eyes shut. Her knees buckled, but the doctor quickly grabbed a hold of her arm.

"Someone get a gurney in here, stat!" he yelled out, trying to keep Maisy balanced. She was gasping. The gurney appeared quickly, and several people lifted her onto it, and rushed out of the room. The doctor stopped and looked at Casey inquisitively before running off down the hall after the gurney.

Casey tried to get up out of the bed, but once her feet hit the floor, her legs felt wobbly. For a second she thought she saw Derek in the doorway of the room, but she wasn't sure, because then she herself collapsed for the second time that day.

x—x

I know that this was short. I'm sorry I made you wait for a small chapter. But I still hope it was satisfactory, and you guys liked it!

Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, PLEASE, REVIEW!!!!!

Please, I plead!

Anyway, keep reading my stuff!

Love!

-Tarryn


	5. Danger Zone

No, I haven't forgotten about this story, but I'm sure a bunch of you guys have! I'm really very sorry. I'm trying uber hard to update everything more frequently. I hate that you guys have had to wait for my updates for months! Anyway, I'm working on it.

Enjoy!

x—x

"Casey. Casey wake up. Wake up NOW!"

This was how Casey was roused from her unconsciousness.

_Not the nicest way to be woken up_, in Casey's opinion. She opened her eyes to find herself lying in her hospital bed with Derek standing over her.

"Wasn't I on the floor?" Was the first thing Casey said.

Derek's concerned look was replaced by an amused smirk, and he chuckled softly.

"What, you though I was just going to leave you on hospital linoleum? Do you know how unsanitary that is?" he asked.

"Ew, you're right. Where's my hand sanitizer?" Casey panicked.

Derek burst out laughing. "I really don't understand you. You saved three people today, and you're worried about germs?"

"Three people?" Casey inquired.

"Yeah, three people." Derek said, crossing his arms across his chest. "That guy, me, and the nurse."

"Oh." Casey said. "So the nurse is okay?"

"Yeah, she should be." Derek nodded. "So you had another vision?"

Casey gave a small nod.

"Case, you can't tell anyone about the visions." Derek said.

Casey thought about it for a moment. Telling people about the visions would mean people thinking she was crazy, or a freak, or worse, people believing her and trying to get her to work for the FBI, or something, like the Lightning Girl from the 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series she had read. Did she want that? Nu-uh. Not a bit.

"I know. I know, Derek." Casey said.

"Good. Just make something up if anyone asks you anything about the nurse. You drew some attention to yourself with that. Even though you already had the spotlight. I'm sure everyone at the school knows that you're a hero." Derek smiled.

"Don't call me a hero." Casey said. "I'm not. I'm a freak."

"You're not a freak." Derek said sternly. "You're anything but."

_If I had known that Derek had to get stabbed for us to start getting along, I would have blindly thrown a fork in his direction a long time ago. _Casey thought to herself. The thought made her smile.

"What?" Derek asked, noting that Casey was smiling for no apparent reason, since he didn't know what was going on inside of her head.

"Why are you being so nice to me? Why are we getting along?" Casey asked, the smile still tugging at the corners of her lips.

"What reason is there for our banter now?" Derek asked.

"What is ever the reason for our banter, ever?" Casey countered.

"Touché." Derek said. "I don't know, I just don't feel like it. I mean, think about what we've been through today. Like I said before, we both could have died. What's the point?"

"Well, what do you know? Mr. Venturi, being mature." Casey said, smirking.

"More unbelievable things have happened lately." Derek smirked knowingly at Casey.

Casey smiled. "True."

Someone cleared their throat, and both Casey and Derek turned to see a man in a suit standing in the doorway.

"Excuse me, but I need a word with Ms. MacDonald." the man said.

"Um, sure. Of course." Derek said, glancing at Casey before leaving the room. Pausing at the doorway, Derek mouthed, _Don't tell him,_ and then continued down the hall.

"How are you feeling, Ms. MacDonald?" The man asked.

"I'm doing okay. Who are you?" Casey asked.

"Pardon me. I'm officer Spencer. I was sent down to talk to you about the events that occurred at your school earlier, and then I overheard the incident with your nurse. Apparently you cried for assistance because something was wrong with her. Personnel says when they came, the nurse was fine, and then seconds later she collapsed. Heart attack, apparently."

Casey nodded.

"How did you know something was wrong with her?"

"Um, I'm pretty well read, and I saw the signs of an approaching myocardial infarction." Casey said, thanking God that she was such a nerd, and knew things like that.

Officer Spencer looked surprised and impressed.

"That's a heart attack." Casey said.

"I know what a myocardial infarction is, Ms. MacDonald." Officer Spencer said.

Casey blushed, hoping she hadn't offended him.

"The nurse will be fine, by the way. She's very lucky you knew what was happening. It's seems like you've had a good part in saving people lately."

Casey nodded meekly.

"Casey can you give a description of the attacker from the school?"

Casey nodded, and told Officer Spencer about the guy's black hair, blue trucker hat, and other relevant information she knew about the guy.

Officer Spencer nodded and thanked her, and then cleared his throat again, and looked at Casey in a very serious manner.

"Ms. MacDonald, it's in your best interest for you to know that, obviously, the perpetrator has yet to be picked up by law enforcement, although we're doing all we can. We had him for a brief moment, but he managed to get away from us. And the information you've given us will help. But until he's picked up, there's the chance that you, your step-brother, and Ben Wilkins could be in danger."

"Ben Wilkins?" Casey asked.

"The young man you saved today." Officer Spencer informed.

"Oh." Casey nodded. "Danger? What kind of danger."

"Without the perpetrator in custody, he may seek out to finish what he wasn't able to, which means, you and your step-brother need to be cautious. The rest of your family as well." Officer Spencer said.

He pulled out a card. "Here, you can contact me with the number here." Officer Spencer said.

"Thank you." Casey said, examining the card.

Officer Spencer walked to the door, and stopped before exiting.

"Don't worry, Ms. MacDonald. We'll bring him in soon. Be careful." He tipped his head forward before leaving.

Casey sighed.

Seconds later, Derek slipped into the room.

"I was waiting by my doorway, waiting to see him leave." Derek confessed. "So, who is he?"

"Officer Spencer." Casey said, leaning to give Derek the card he had left.

"What he want?" He asked, turning the card over in his fingers.

"He came to get a description of the attacker." Casey said.

Derek nodded, and then looked up. "Does that mean they don't have him? I thought school security got him." Derek said.

"Apparently he got away." Casey shrugged.

"Well, why did he need a description from you? Couldn't they have just asked school security, since they had the guy for a bit. Or that other kid, um-"

"Ben Wilkins." Casey said.

"Yeah, him. Why didn't they ask him?"

"They probably did. Maybe they just needed verification." Casey said.

"Then why not ask me, too?" Derek asked, placing the card down on a table.

"Why are you asking so many questions?" Casey asked.

"I don't know. It just seems kind of weird." Derek said, crossing his arms.

"Well, I don't know, Derek, but Officer Spencer said that we could be in danger, since the guy isn't in custody."

"How could the guy get away from school security? How does that happen? You would think they would have been able to nab the guy quickly, even if he took off." Derek said, as if he hadn't heard Casey.

"Derek, are you listening? We're still in danger. That guy could still come after us. The rest of the family might not be safe, either." Casey stressed.

Derek looked at Casey, realizing how concerned he was. He went and sat next to her on the bed.

"Don't worry about it, Casey." Derek said in a soothing tone. "I'm sure they'll find him, and everything will be okay. Besides, I won't let anything happen to you."

Casey felt that flutter in her gut, but did all she could to squelch it quickly. She didn't like it.

Casey gave a small nod, letting herself believe Derek's comforting words for the moment, even though she didn't know how much truth any of it held.

x—x

Hm, okay, end chapter. What do you guys think? As I wrote this chapter more of a plan formulated in my head for this story. It should be pretty interesting. Of course, I've decided that this is definitely going to end up Dasey, but at least this story isn't completely revolved around them, like a lot of the other stories are. So that's a nice change, i think. Anyway, I would love it if you guys reviewed. Please (:

Thanks, loves.

-Tarryn


	6. Shadowed Distraction

Mm, I have a turkey sandwich. I've been utterly infatuated with turkey lately, for some reason. Eating it, naming stuffed squirrels from the Grand Canyon after it, even putting where I live on Myspace as "Dude, I want some, Turkey." Seriously. Even though I don't, of course, live in _Turkey_. Or In, _Dude, I wan_t _some_. So yeah, haha. I'm so very weird. I also keep listening to Taylor Swift. And I usually detest country music. But I keep repeating, Tim McGraw, Picture To Burn, Teardrops on my Guitar, Should've Said No, Mary's Song, Our Song, and I'd Lie over and over on my iTunes. Even now. I'm listening to Should've Said No. Wait, the song just ended, so now it's Mary's Song. I know that none of this was anything you needed to know, but I had nothing else to say. (:

Enjoy!

x—x

Eventually, Derek left Casey's hospital room and returned to his own so that they could both get some rest.

Casey tossed around in her hospital bed, completely uncomfortable, and unable to fall asleep.

There were way too many things running through her head for her to sleep, like the guy that could come after her and her family. She disliked being forced to stay over at the hospital. At least she knew Derek was safe. He was right down the hall. But what about everyone else? Would they be okay? Did they even know that they weren't completely safe?

And another thing was the visions. How could she go to sleep, when she had no idea what kind of horrible thing she might witness when she drifted off? She didn't _want _to see anything. It made it almost impossible to shut her eyes.

Casey lied in in the uncomfortable hospital bed and looked at the ceiling, thinking about how many people in the world wished that they could see things like that.

_So many people. So many would love to see the tiniest bit of anything. Why me? I never wanted to. I don't want this. I want to be normal. I don't want any of this._

Casey brought her hands to her face, although she found herself unable to cry. Running her hands through her hair, she sighed.

_Please don't see anything. Please don't see anything. Please don't see anything._

Casey pleaded her mind as she slowly let her eyes drift closed.

x—x

The next day Casey and Derek were both released from the hospital.

As soon as Casey woke up, George and Nora were in her room, as well as Derek, who was all set to go. Casey was able to get up and dressed, avoiding her mom's fussing over her. If she let her mom fuss, she'd never get out of there, and home. But she was glad that her mom and George were okay, so which meant everyone else was, too.

On the car ride home, Casey felt slightly comforted by having Derek seated next to her, since she was being slightly paranoid; looking at everyone on the street to see if it was the attacker.

Derek could tell what was on her mind, so he nudged her shoulder.

"It's okay." he whispered.

Casey nodded, but still worried. Which Derek could also see.

Casey felt her heart speed up when she felt Derek grab her hand and slip his fingers with her own. She looked at him, but he was staring ahead, looking fine, as if grabbing Casey's hand was a normal occurrence.

Well, if he was trying to distract her, it was definitely working.

_He's just trying to be comforting. _She thought. _Of course. He's just being nice._

Casey didn't like the reaction Derek got out of her by simply trying to be nice.

Derek kept a firm hold on Casey's hand the whole way home, and she definitely didn't think about any murderous stalker that might come after her and her family for revenge. All she could think about was her hand. In his. Which he had put there. And that's the _only _thing she could think of.

When the car pulled into the driveway, Derek let go of her hand and opened the door so that he could get out. Casey followed. Once they hit the front steps they were crashed into by hugs from Lizzie, Edwin and Marti.

"Smerek!" Marti yelled out joyously.

"Smarti!" Derek grabbed the young girl and picked her up.

"I'm so glad you're alright." Marti said in her small voice, wrapping her little arms around Derek's neck.

Casey couldn't help but smile. Derek and Marti had the cutest relationship. It practically made her melt. Derek glanced at her, and it made her think of how her hand had felt in his. Also like she was going to melt.

Casey looked away from Derek and followed Lizzie and Edwin into the house.

"You and Derek have gotten so many messages!" Lizzie gushed as they got into the house. "Probably a hundred, at least!"

"Bro, so many chicks have been calling for you! They all sound hot." Edwin waggled his eyebrows at Derek.

Casey glanced at Derek, but he, still holding Marti, didn't seem to be paying attention to his brother.

"Not only girls!" Lizzie said, "You wouldn't imagine how many guys have called for Casey! Most of them asking for dates and mentioning Saturday night plans!" Lizzie shrieked.

Casey couldn't help but notice that Derek looked up at _this._ She looked away once again so he would not see her blush.

"What guys?" Derek asked casually.

"A lot of guys," Edwin said, "Maybe more than girls for you."

"Yeah, Casey saved all of you guys. You only got stabbed." Lizzie giggled lightly.

Casey smiled and Derek rolled his eyes humorously.

"We're going to go pick up some dinner." George said from behind them, Nora standing next to him.

"Oh, I want to go! I want to go!" Marti shrieked from Derek's arms.

"Okay, Marti, come on." Nora said.

Derek placed Marti down and she bolted to grab her coat.

"Be good." George said as they walked out the door.

After a moment of more babbling from Lizzie and Edwin, the two sat down on the couch and brought up the game menu screen on the television and began to play a game.

"I'm going to go lay down." Casey said. Everyone nodded at her.

Quietly she headed up the stairs. Once in her room with the door closed, she shed her clothes that had been clinging to her uncomfortably, in favor of donning a simple tank top and shorts. For once in nearly forty-eight hours, Casey felt herself begin to relax. She looked at her bed;it seemed to be calling to her.

She stood over it and let herself fall comfortably into the pillows and comforter. She sunk in and rested her cheek against the cool sheet, and sighed. She could have almost felt safe if there wasn't a psychopath on the loose that may or may not have her name as number one on his revenge list.

She closed her eyes, trying to push the thought out of her mind, when she her a soft knock on her bedroom door. Her eyes blinked open and looked at the door.

"Come in." She said quietly. She didn't want to get up, and there was no need to be loud. The house was in a quasi-peaceful state. Why disturb it?

She watched the doorknob turn until the door opened and Derek peeked in.

Casey sat up straight and looked at him, look at her.

"Come in." She said again.

Derek stepped into the room and gently closed the door behind him. Casey scooted over, and Derek sat down beside her. Seconds later, her leaned back, letting himself lay down. Hesitantly, Casey did the same.

As they both stared up at the ceiling, Casey though how odd it was that they were laying side by side in her bed. Odd, more-so, that she was completely comfortable.

Minutes of silence went by, and Casey comfortably traced shapes out from the ceiling, until Derek spoke.

"Did you dream?" He asked softly.

Casey turned her head to the side to look at Derek, only to him do the same seconds later. They looked at each other, their faces close. Casey could have counted Derek's eyelashes, and he could have done the same.

Casey sighed and licked her lips, "No."

"Oh." He said, nodding lightly.

"Nothing clear." Casey pressed her lips together and shrugged them to the side.

"Oh." He said again, "Then what did you see?"

Casey sighed and tilted her head back to the ceiling.

"Shadows."

Casey glanced back at Derek, before both their gazes traveled back to the ceiling.

They laid together, silently side by side, until George, Nora, and Marti returned, a half hour later.

x—x

This was mostly a filler chapter. But I did some hardcore planning with this story. So if you want drama and action, this is definitely the story for you, because I've got a lot of it planned! I hope you liked it, and I would love to hear what you thought!

Review, loves.

-Tarryn


	7. Watched Insecurities

Aha, I'm having fun, because I'm hanging out with my friend! Whoo. But she's listening to music, and being weird –like saying random things about High School Musical, weird- so I thought that I would write. So here I am. Writing. Yay!

Enjoy!

x—x

"Casey, honey, why don't you just go back to bed?" Nora fussed as Casey grabbed an apple from the bowl of fruit on the counter.

"Casey, Nora's right. You too, Derek. You shouldn't be going back to school yet. Take some time off." George nodded, standing beside his wife. Both watched as Casey and Derek ate breakfast, somewhat concerned.

"I'm fine." Derek said, spooning cereal into his mouth.

"So am I." Casey said nodding, and taking a bite out of the apple. After chewing she said, "And I can't get behind on school work."

Nora crossed her arms across her chest. "I don't know, I still think a little more time off would be best."

Derek got up and patted Nora on the shoulder.

"We're fine. Promise." He said.

Casey got up as well. "And we'll look after each other." Casey joked, chuckling lightly.

"I don't think we're going to win on this one." George said, looking at Nora.

"Do we ever win?" She asked.

Casey and Derek looked at each other.

"No." They said in unison.

"We'll be fine, mom." Casey said, kissing her mother on the cheek before scooping up some books from the table.

Nora nodded. "Have a good day."

Derek and Casey headed out the front door, and to Derek's car. They got in and silently, Derek drove them to school. Once they reached the school parking lot, Derek noted that Casey kept her eyes glued to the cup holder.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked.

"You sound like mom and George." Casey said lightly, but still didn't look up. Instead she kept her eyes focused on her seatbelt where her fingers fiddled with the material.

"What's up, Case?" Derek persisted.

Casey sighed. "I'm just worried." She admitted.

"It'll be okay," Derek nudged her shoulder, "Now come on, _Hero. _Let's go to school."

Casey sighed again, but obliged, unbuckling her seatbelt, and exiting the car.

"Don't think about it." Derek said, as he watched Casey stare at the parking lot, and entrance of the school cautiously.

Casey nodded, and made her way up the steps.

When she and Derek entered, everything got kind of hushed, and people watched them. But the silence was quickly broken by a squeal, attached to a body that raced toward Casey.

"Ohmygod! Casey! I've been trying to get a hold of you ever since I heard. I mean, I knew you were in the hospital, but I tried to call when I thought you'd be back, and my parents didn't think I should go over and bother you, and..." Emily continued to speed talk in vain as she and Casey walked to their locker.

Casey couldn't make out half of what Emily was blabbering about, but she was glad that Emily had interrupted her growing paranoia of the staring student body. Once interrupted by Emily's chattering, the students of the hall began to talk, themselves.

She noted that Derek was still walking with them.

"You don't have to walk with us." Casey said to Derek.

Emily didn't seem to notice that Casey wasn't really paying attention.

"It's okay, I don't mind." Derek shrugged.

Casey nodded and they all continued to walk.

Once they reached Casey and Emily's locker, Emily still hadn't stopped talking, and Derek still didn't leave. Trying to ignore both, Casey opened the locker and pulled out what she needed, and putting away what she didn't.

A bell rang, and Emily finally stopped talking.

"We should probably head to class." Emily said.

Casey nodded and looked at Derek.

"Everything will be okay," he said to her, "I'll see you at lunch."

Casey nodded until they both walked into opposite directions.

Maybe she should have listened to her mother.

x—x

Walking out of her Geometry class, Casey sighed. She had made it through half the day without freaking out. A lot of people that never talked to her before were talking to her; she didn't mind, but she mostly just didn't care. A lot of people said hi to her, and several tried to strike up conversation about what had happened. She had managed to avoid the conversations with minimal words.

And Lizzie hadn't been lying about guys calling an asking for dates; those who didn't call, or just didn't give up after their call wasn't replied were all talking to her, a large percentage flirting, and some asking her out. All of which were gently let down.

She even found it somewhat amusing.

_Oh, you want to go on a date? Sure, I'll get back to you tomorrow. Maybe I'll have had a dream that'll tell me whether I should go out with you._

Might as well make the most out of a really bad situation.

In this situation, the most was very small, and very bad humor.

She walked through the hallway, actually surprised to find she was able to ignore the continuous looks, as she went toward the lunch room.

Emily was immediately able to find her, and ended up by her side as soon as she stepped into the cafeteria.

"Hey!" Emily chirped.

"Hey, Em."

"How's the day so far?" Emily asked as they both slid into the lunch line and began to get their lunch.

Casey shrugged, "It could definitely be worse."

Emily nodded, "Guess what! I heard that Pete Matthews was going to ask you out.

Casey laughed as she picked up a cup of Jello and placed it on her tray.

"What's so funny?" Emily asked.

"You're getting a little rusty, Em." Casey shook her head.

"What? What do you mean?" Emily faltered.

"I mean, your dating guru powers must be a little off if you've only heard that Pete Matthews was going to ask me out."

"I'm still not making a connection." Emily stated.

"Rowland Patterson, Jim Bates, Horacio Jennings, Kevin Strong, Ryan Phillips, Duff Kensington, Joseph Manohaun, Nick Cash-"

"Okay, okay, what's the point?" Emily interrupted.

"They, and a bunch of other guys, asked me out today." Casey said.

Emily eyes widened, "What?"

Casey shrugged.

"Wow," Emily said, "My skills must be useless when so much is happening. Even my mind doesn't have enough time to process all of that information into statistics."

"Don't worry, you still do well." Casey assured his friend.

"Thanks." Emily nodded.

"Hmm, where's Derek?" Casey wondered aloud.

"Why?" Emily asked.

"He said he'd see me at lunch." Casey said.

Emily laughed.

"What?" Casey asked.

"I don't think you're going to be able to hang out." Emily said.

"How come?" Casey asked.

"Do you think he'll be able to get away from _that?_" Emily asked, pointing across the cafeteria. Derek was surrounded by people, mostly girls. "I really don't think he'll even try." Emily said.

Casey watched Derek talk to all the people around him as she and Emily stepped out of the lunch line.

"You want to eat outside?" Casey asked Emily when she stopped looking at Derek.

"Sure." Emily nodded.

It didn't take long before Derek and his posse were outside as well. Casey found herself continually glancing at Derek while she ate.

She was peeved that she couldn't seem to not do it, and glad that Emily didn't seem to notice.

"You okay?" Emily asked.

Or maybe she did notice.

Casey snapped from looking at Derek, "Yeah, Em. I'm fine."

Emily looked unconvinced, "You sure?"

"Yeah, Em, I'm..." Casey trailed off.

"Casey?" Emily asked, "Casey?"

But Casey wasn't paying attention. Because while she had been talking, she looked across from her, and not too far away was a fence around the school. And across the street from the school, _he _was watching her. And when she saw him, he smiled.

Casey jumped up from her seat, feeling as if her heart was going to explode from beating so hard.

"Whoa, Case. And you wonder why I ask if some thing's wrong." Emily quipped.

But Casey wasn't listening. She watched a bus pass in front of him, and once it was gone, so was he.

_But he was there._

"I've gotta go." Casey said.

"Hey, Case-"

But Casey was already moving. She hurried through groups of kids, for once not even having to think about looking at Derek; she just didn't, and she made her way into the hallways of the school.

She went into the girls bathroom, thankful to find it empty. She dropped her bag to the floor, and splashed water from the sink over her face, trying to breath steadily.

She gripped the sink and looked into the mirror.

"He was there," She said to herself, "He was there. You're not crazy, he was there."

She sighed, placing her head in her palm, and shaking her head before she picked up her bag and left the bathroom.

All she had to do was get some stuff from her locker, and make it through two more classes. She got to her locker, feeling as though she was starting to be able to breath correctly again.

She opened the locker, and and envelope fell out and onto the floor. She picked it up. Her name was on it. Warily, Casey opened it.

And she couldn't breath, again.

'**Watch your back.**'

x—x

I've got the next chapter planned out. Drama? Oh, yes. ::Smiles:: I hope you guys liked it, but why don't you just go ahead and tell me what you thought?

Review, loves.

-Tarryn


	8. Speed Wreck

It's 1 am, and I'm on a roll. I just knocked out two updates, one for Once Upon A Diary, and one for the previous chapter of this story, and I was also able to get a good start on the next chapter of No Way, Jose. And I'm going to try and be Super-Tarryn and write another chapter for this story. Let's get this part started!

Enjoy!

-I'm also addicted to the song Everything by Lifehouse, and have played it 25 times in a row, even though it's like, six minutes long.-

x—x

Still trying to breath, Casey looked over the note once more, to make sure she had read it correctly, but the words remained exactly the same.

**'Watch your back'**.

Clear as day, the words scared the hell out of her.

She quickly turned to move, to go somewhere, but she knocked into something solid, and ended up screaming out loud.

"Whoa, whoa. Case, it's okay. It's just me." A familiar voice said.

Casey found herself face-to-face with Derek. Well, more like face-to-chest. But Casey still gladly let herself rest her head against that chest as she tried to breath.

"Casey, are you okay? What happened?" Derek asked, looking down at her, concerned.

Casey shook her head, not wanting to speak, but Derek grasped her shoulder, "What happened?" He asked firmly.

Casey was silent for a moment.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I saw you rush off outside. I asked Emily what was wrong, and she said you freaked out about something and just left. I was kind of worried. So I came inside so I could try to find you, and see what had happened." Derek said.

"I saw him, Derek," Casey said, looking up at him, "He's watching me."

"Wait, what? Who's watching you?" Derek asked, looking slightly confused.

"_Him,_" Casey stressed, "I saw him across the street from here, during lunch. He was watching me, and then he was just gone!"

Derek look doubtful, "Casey, are you sure-"

"Derek, I saw him!" Casey cried, shoving the note into Derek's hands.

He looked down at it, unfolding the crumpled paper to read it, and Casey watched his face visibly and immediately became stony, his eyes hard.

"Where did you get this?" He asked, when he finally looked up from it.

"It fell out of my locker." Casey told him.

He looked down at the note again, and then shoved it roughly into his pocket.

"We're leaving." He said, resolutely.

"What?" Casey asked, looking at him.

"Get your stuff, we're going home." Derek said.

"Derek, we can't just leave-"

"Of course we can," Derek said, "This is serious. And you know that my dad and Nora are not going to get mad at us. They didn't want us here in the first place. They'd want us to come home."

Seeing Casey still looked somewhat unsure, he said, "You'll feel better at home. You shouldn't be here right now."

Casey thought about it. After a moment she nodded.

"Get what you need." Derek said.

Casey quickly did so, and she grabbed a few things from her locker, and then closed it shut. Then she followed Derek as they stopped at his locker, where he pulled out a few things, and then they headed for the school exit.

"Are you sure we should do this?" Casey asked, staring at the exit doors.

Derek said nothing, and instead just gave Casey a small nudge, and they continued to move, exiting the school, and starting down the steps to the parking lot.

As they were walking, Casey stopped and looked around.

"What is it?" Derek asked, looking at her.

"I- I don't know," Casey said, glancing around the parking lot, "I just..."

"You just what?" Derek asked.

"I feel like we're being watched." Casey said, nervously.

Derek looked down at her, obviously worried.

"That's it," Derek said, grabbing a hold of one of Casey's hands, "We're definitely out of here, no doubt about it."

Casey let Derek pull her toward the car at a fast pace, still looking around her, feeling uneasy.

Once they reached the car, Derek released her hand, and they both quickly got into the car, throwing their books and bags into the backseat, and buckling up.

Once Derek started the car, and pulled out of the school parking lot, Casey began to feel a little better.

"You okay?" Derek asked.

"I really don't know." Casey answered honestly.

Derek nodded.

"I'm sorry about lunch," he said, "I wanted to go and sit with you, but I really couldn't shake them, and I figured a posse of Derek lovers would just annoy you."

Casey looked over at Derek and saw that he looked like he was being sincere.

"It's okay," Casey said, "You're probably right, anyway."

Derek chuckled.

"So how many ask outs did you get today?" He asked.

Casey scoffed, "How many did you get?"

"Some," Derek said, "Apparently being the victim is quite a turn on." Derek joked.

"Apparently so is being the hero." Casey laughed again.

They continued to laugh as Derek drove up a hill. And then, his laughter stopped when they reached the beginning of going down the hill.

"Uh-oh." Derek said.

"Uh-oh what?" Casey asked, looking at Derek.

"Casey," Derek said.

"Yeah?" Casey asked.

"The breaks not working." He pushed his foot up and down repeatedly, but it didn't work.

"What do you mean the breaks not working?" Casey cried out frantically.

"It's not working!" Derek yelled.

They were going down the hill, with no way of stopping, and heading straight into oncoming traffic.

"Derek!" Casey yelled.

"Casey, get out of the car!" Derek yelled.

"What?" Casey cried, looking at him like he was crazy.

"Just do it!" Derek yelled, unbuckling his seatbelt quickly. Casey did the same.

"You need to jump, Casey!" Derek said.

Derek and Casey opened their doors and saw the speeding asphalt below them.

"Now!" Derek yelled.

And they jumped.

x—x

I know that this was fairly short, but this was really all I needed to say in this chapter, and found no way to expand it. I know that chapter nine should be okay in length, since I have a plan ready, but I think that chapter ten will be fairly short as well.

Review, loves.

-Tarryn


	9. Revisited

You guys rock. I swear. Thank you guys for the tremendous feedback. All you feedback monkeys, which one of you will marry me?

HECK! I'll marry all of you! What do you say? (Insert Feedback Monkeys Saying 'I Do' Here)

Enjoy!

x—x

Casey sat in the hospital bed, staring at the bland walls with disgust.

"Twice in four days, Derek!" Casey cried, "How did we end up in the hospital twice in four days?"

Derek looked at her strangely.

"Hmm, I dunno," Derek said, tapping his chin with his fingers, "Maybe because first some psychopath tried to stab us to death, and now said psychopath has disconnected my breaks in another attempt at killing us."

Casey glared at him, "We were damn lucky."

"Tell me about it. Thanks to me." Derek said.

"If you wouldn't have insisted on us leaving school, we may not be here in this God forsaken place again." Casey said.

"Oh, yes, you're right, we wouldn't be here," Derek nodded, "We'd be in the morgue."

"What?" Casey faltered.

"If this had happened after school, there would have been more cars, and we probably would have gotten run over when we jumped out of the car." Derek said.

To make sure she got it he made a squishing noise.

Casey opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it, and nodded in defeat.

"They still won't tell you about the car?" Casey asked.

Derek shook his head, "No. I don't take that as a good sign."

Casey nodded in agreement.

"I'm really sorry." Casey said.

"For what?" Derek asked.

Casey stared at him like he was an idiot.

"What?" he asked, "Am I missing something?"

"Derek!" Casey cried, "I almost got you killed twice!"

"Aw, and I thought you didn't care about me." Derek said jokingly.

"Derek, this is serious!"

"I know it is, Casey. But we're both okay!" Derek said.

"But we might not have been." Casey said quietly, looking down.

"Hey," Derek said, looking at her, "Hey, don't."

"Don't what?" Casey asked.

"Don't cry, or get upset or feel guilty." Derek said.

"I thought you only couldn't handle crying girls." Casey murmured.

"I can't handle anything when it comes to you." Derek smirked.

Casey choked slightly, and began to sob.

"This is all my fault," Casey cried, "What's wrong with me? Why did this happen to me?"

"Hey, hey," Derek quickly walked over to where Casey was sitting and put an arm around her, "There's nothing wrong with you. Nothing."

Casey looked up at him and gave a weak smile, but it faltered when she saw that Derek was looking at her strangely. She could have sworn he was about to lean in like he was going to kiss her, but the sound of someone clearing their throat in a manner of getting attention broke their silence.

Derek sprang away from Casey as if he had been shot at, and Casey saw that she recognized the intruder. It was Officer Spencer.

"Hello, Casey. I didn't expect you to be back here so soon. Or at all, for that matter." Officer Spencer said.

Derek narrowed his eyes at him, "Who are you?"

"Derek, this is Officer Spencer. I told you about him, and you saw him leave my room the other day." Casey explained.

Derek's eyes remained narrowed, looking the Officer up and down.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Venturi." Officer Spencer said.

Derek grunted.

Officer Spencer cleared his throat again, "I'm sorry to ask, but can Ms. MacDonald and I have a word in private?"

Derek took a tentative step back toward Casey's bed.

"Um, that's okay, Officer Spencer. I mean, he's a part of this, too, so he should probably hear what you have to say."

"Not that I wouldn't find out anyway." Derek murmured quietly, but audibly.

Officer Spencer ignored him, "Very well." He nodded.

"I am sure you are not surprised to know that the perpetrator from the other day has still not been obtained."

"Really? No way." Derek said sarcastically.

Casey nudged him in his side.

"It is obvious that we suspect that todays incident was of his doing." Officer Spencer continued, "You both are very lucky to be alive."

"Wow, really? I had no idea jumping out of a moving vehicle could be dangerous." Derek murmured.

"Derek." Casey hissed.

"I expect that nobody has told you the outcome of the crash?"

Both Casey and Derek shook their heads.

"As I'm sure you know, the breaks were disabled. If you hadn't have jumped out of the car, you would have been hit by an oncoming semi." Officer Spencer said.

Derek's jaw dropped, "So-"

"Yes, I'm sorry Mr. Venturi, but your car is mangled. Hit straight on by the semi. There's no way either of you could have survived."

When neither teen spoke, Officer Spencer continued, "I don't think I need to tell you that we suspect that there is some kind of psychotic, sadistic plot of revenge toward you, Ms. MacDonald. Possibly as well as for you, Mr. Venturi."

"Now what would make you say that?" Derek rolled his eyes.

"Mr. Venturi, this is no laughing matter. You are both in danger." Officer Spencer said.

"Well, then what do you propose we do?" Derek asked, crossing his arms.

Officer Spencer faltered, "Well, I don't exactly-"

"You can't help us." Derek said dryly.

"I didn't-"

"Are we finished?" Derek asked.

"I-" Officer Spencer began to protest, but stopped, straightened his suit, and nodded, "Yes, I believe we are."

"Fantastic." Derek said.

Officer Spencer nodded once more, "I hope not to have to visit you here again. Ms. MacDonald, Mr. Venturi."

After a moment, Officer Spencer left the room.

Derek sighed, and turned toward Casey, "Well, wasn't that a pain?"

Casey's lips were pursed.

"Why were you so rude?" Casey asked.

Derek shrugged, "I dunno. Just something about the guy rubs me the wrong way."

"I bet he can say the same about you, except that he actually has a reason." Casey said.

"I'm just following my gut." Derek said.

"Whatever."

Derek sighed, "I can't believe my car is totaled."

"I'm sorry!" Casey said loudly.

Derek looked at her like she was crazy.

"It's not your fault, it's the psychos." He said.

Casey shook her head, "I feel like this is all my fault."

"Well, it's not." Derek said bluntly.

After a moments hesitation, Casey nodded.

"We're in trouble, Derek." Casey said.

"I know, Case."

"I don't think this is the end of it."

Derek looked at her for a moment before speaking.

"Neither do I."

x—x

Derek watched as Casey fidgeted in her seat.

They were in Nora's car, Nora, George, Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti all having come to pick them up from the hospital. And now Casey was seated by the door, with Derek next to her, noticing how nervous she appeared to be.

"Are you okay?" Derek whispered quietly.

Casey quickly looked at him, and nodded before turning back toward the window.

Derek didn't buy it; something was obviously wrong. But he wasn't going to say anything more for the time being.

He continued to observe her until the car pulled up in their driveway, and everyone quickly filed out. Everyone except for Casey and Derek, who moved slowly, and quietly.

"Okay, so what's wrong?" Derek asked again.

"You know how I told you I felt like we were being watched when we were leaving the school?" Casey asked quietly.

Derek nodded hesitantly.

"That's how I've felt since we left the hospital," Casey said, "I feel like we're being watched, or followed, or something."

Derek sighed, "I'm guessing that's not good."

Casey shook her head, "No, it's not."

"Are you guys coming in?" Nora called from the porch.

"Uh, yeah, mom, we'll be right in." Casey called.

"Okay, well there's a note for you in the mailbox." Nora said, before going inside.

Casey sighed, "I hate this, Derek!"

"I know, Case, I know." Derek said quietly.

"What if I have more dreams? Have you thought of that? I don't know if I could handle that."

"Shh, come on. Let's just go in side." Derek said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Ignoring the tingling sensation his touch left, Casey nodded, and they headed toward the porch. Casey grabbed an envelope from the mailbox, and stopped when she looked at it.

"Derek," she said, "This is the same print that was on the envelope for the other note."

Derek looked at it, and said quickly, "Come on. Let's go inside, and go upstairs."

Trying not to shake, Casey followed Derek into the house, eying the envelope in her hand as though it were going to explode at any time.

They slipped upstairs, and Derek went into Casey's room. She followed, and quietly closed the door behind her.

Derek stood behind Casey, and they both stared at the envelope in Casey's hands.

"Go on, open it." Derek whispered.

Taking a deep breath, Casey broke the seal, and slowly pulled out the note inside. They stared at it, holding their breath.

The words,** 'You got lucky. But luck runs out, eventually,' **stared back at them.

x—x

Okay, so at the end of the last chapter I said that this chapter would be an "eh" okay in length, and then chapter 10 would probably be boring and short. But halfway through writing this chapter, I changed my mind and decided that my plan for chapter 10 was just way too short and filleresque, so I decided to just tack on what I had planned for that chapter onto this one. So I must say that I think you guys are going to like what I have planned for the next chapter. (:

Oh, and yes, I gave you that _small _hint of Dasey. I gotta say, if you want major Dasey action, you're gonna have to wait, because this is not a Dasey spotlight story, where the only thing discussed is Derek and Casey. Obviously, it has a plot away from that.

The Dasey is just like a bonus. (:

Review, loves.

-Tarryn


	10. Darkness Abducted

I think the reviewers for all of my stories will be officially titled The Feedback Monkeys. It just fits so well:

Tarryn and The Feedback Monkeys.

I may even start opening for positions of head Feedback Monkeys. Like Feedback Monkey Number 1, Feedback Monkey Number 2, and so on. Lol.

It's because I love you all so much. I swear.

The marriage proposals are still out there, I just have yet to hear an 'I do'. (:

Enjoy!

x—x

Casey rested her forehead in her palm, and let out a small groan before looking up at the clock again.

_This is what the slackers must feel like when they're waiting for class to end. God! This is how _Derek _must feel, all the time._

She quietly shifted in her seat so that she could rest her chin on her desk, with her arms hanging by her side as she continued to watch the clock. It was driving her crazy that she only had a few more minutes until her lunch, and the clock seemed to be going so slow, it could possibly have started to move backwards.

A piece of hair hung in her face and she absentmindedly blew it away, and tried to fight her urge to bang her head against her desk. She was so exhausted, frustrated, bored, and worried that she could hardly stand it. She barely knew how to handle herself.

Her head tilted over and her cheek rested on the desk, as she willed the clock to move faster.

By the time the bell rang, Casey had begun to bang her chin quietly against the desk. But she immediately bolted up, grabbed her bag, and bolted from the room with a temporary energy that faded as soon as she was out the door. She walked slowly, heading in the direction that she hoped was the cafeteria.

She then felt herself be unexpectedly pulled, and she almost screamed, until she saw that it was Derek that had pulled her aside by the back of her shirt.

"Geez!" She said, "What are you doing?"

Derek's eyebrow raised, and he smirked, "Oh, only stopping you from knocking yourself unconscious."

Derek pointed beside them at a locker door that was opened, it's owner a few feet away, chatting with some friends.

"Oh." Casey said quietly.

"You didn't see that? Because it sure looked like you weren't going to walk around it," Derek chuckled, "Maybe you're already unconscious."

Casey shook her head.

"You alright? I know we weren't able to talk this morning." Derek asked.

"Of course we couldn't. Mom and George would hardly leave our sides." Casey shrugged.

"I repeat my question; are you alright?" Derek asked.

Casey shrugged again, "I dunno. I'm just really on edge. And I couldn't sleep last night, either. But then, I don't even know if I would have wanted to."

Derek studied her for a moment, "Maybe we need to stop defying my dad and Nora, and actually stay home when they want us to. With everything that happened yesterday, and all."

Casey sighed, "I know, but through all this heavy fog around me, my gut still told me that I should be here."

"The grubbiness never ends, does it?" Derek asked jokingly.

Casey gave him a small swat on his shoulder.

"Come on, Case, let's go to lunch." He said, putting his arm around her, and leading her through the halls.

When they walked into the cafeteria, Derek, somewhat reluctantly, removed his arm.

Whispering had followed them through the halls, partially because of their accidents, and partially because they were getting along. People stared at them as they got their lunch. Some people avoided them as though their problems were contagious, including several people they knew, such as Sheldon, who detoured to supposedly find Emily, and Tinker, who's eyes became the size of teacups, and almost broke out into a run when he saw them.

"Are you sitting with us?" Casey asked, when Derek continued with her once they had gotten their lunches.

"Yeah." Derek said.

"Your fan club joining us?"

Derek smirked, "No, today's the club's meeting. I'm not allowed to participate."

x—x

_Marti's somewhat gappy smile shined over the short fence of her school playground, her fingers curled over the top of the fence. A man stood in front of her on the other side of the gate in the alley, talking to her. Whatever he was saying must have made Marti feel comfortable, since he was obviously a stranger, and yet she was talking to him._

_None of the children seemed to notice that Marti was talking to the man, and the teacher's aids were huddled at the opposite end of the yard, talking, hiding, badly, that they were smoking. Marti and the man continue to talk, but after a moment, Marti's smile disappears. She looks as though she was going to walk away from the fence, but before she can move, the man covers her mouth stifling any possible screams, and quickly lifts her over the fence. No one notices as he runs down the alley, gripping Marti close._

_--_

_The room is dark. Marti is dirty, and bound. Tears continually run down her already tear stained face. A shadow moves into the room, and Marti begins to fight violently against her binds._

_Everything goes black, and the only noise heard is Marti's terrified screams._

--

The bell rang, and Casey jumped from her seat, screaming loudly, drenched in sweat. Everyone in the class turned to look at her, surprised. She had fallen asleep in her class after lunch.

"Casey, what's wrong?" Emily asked, worried.

But Casey ignored her. Leaving all of her stuff, she tore through the room, knocking over several chairs, and burst from the classroom, and began to run down the hallway. She broke through groups of people walking down the hallway, pushing her way through, not even noticing that she was crying.

She felt a hand grasp her arm, pulling her back. It was Derek.

"What happened?" Derek asked, fear in his eyes.

But Casey yanked herself from his grip and continued to run.

She passed everyone, running through the school doors, and through the parking lot until she was out the exit, and then she turned on the sidewalk, and continued to run, without thinking.

She ran for several blocks, until she turned the corner she was aiming for and saw Marti's school. Running around it, she aimed near the playground and the alley.

The man had Marti in his arms, and was pulling her over the fence.

"MARTI!" She screamed loudly as she continued to run, "LET HER GO!"

The man turned at her screams. It was him. She knew it. He had Marti over the fence, but he quickly dropped her to the ground, and took off, tearing down the alley way. The commotion had alerted the aids, who were rapidly stamping out their cigarettes. Casey reached Marti, and scooped her up in her arms. They were both sobbing, Casey also trying to catch her breath.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Derek streak past her, running down the alley, but then running back, knowing that it was too late. He was gone. Derek rushed up to Casey and Marti, throwing his arms around them both, panting.

"Who the hell puts a kid's playground next to a dark alley?" Casey cried before becoming completely enveloped in Derek's grip, and Marti's sobs.

x—x

Hmm, this didn't turn out exactly how I envisioned it, but it brings across what I was pretty much trying to convey. It could have been better, but this will do. I hope you guys liked it. (:

Plus, while writing this, I had a major plot revelation! Also, I expect the next chapter to be fairly, to extremely short and fluffy. Nothing much some interesting-ish stuff that leads to the big bang.

Review, loves.

-Tarryn


	11. Through These Fingers

_x-Just when you're getting a grip on things, fate comes along and jumps on your fingers.-x_

x—x

It was chaos.

Casey, Derek, and Marti were all immediately pulled into the school, along with all the other students, and a school lock down was immediately enforced. The police were called, as were Nora and George. With incredible speed, they were at the school, pulling Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti out. Shoving them all tightly into the car was easy enough as they were all at the same place.

They all noticed Nora and George's precautions, such as locking all the car doors as soon as they were packed into the car. Even getting to the car was cautionary, with Nora in front, Edwin and Lizzie behind her, then Casey, who still had Marti clinging to her, and Derek and George, all in a close line as they hurried to the car.

And it rained.

Before they even reached the house, giant drops of water hit the windshield, and flowed down the windows, drizzling into each other, creating thousands of rain dropped rivers on the car. The sky changed color in a matter of seconds. It was blue, and then you blinked, and it was a little drearier. You blinked again, and the clouds were drifting away as if going into hiding. Blink, and it was gray. You could almost see the sky open, as if a trap door had been let loose; it poured out it's contents like the tears of the broken hearted. The lighting streaked the sky with its fierceness, and the thunder was the guttural roar attached to it. An angry display of emotion painted itself across the sky.

All in all, the weather had chosen the worst time to match a whole families feeling.

_Sad, scared, worried, traumatized, desperate, unsafe._

The drive home was silent.

George and Nora had yet to say a single thing to any of them. Lizzie and Edwin had tried to ask quiet question near the beginning, but that quickly diminished, and they fell silent. Marti had stopped crying, and instead just held tight to Casey, her head resting on her shoulder, eyes tightly shut. And Casey, she felt like she would never find the strength or want to speak again. A glance at Derek told her he felt the exact same way. Which was why it was she who snaked her fingers between his in the car that time.

As soon as she had placed her hand in his, he held on tight, every piece of emotion he could have possibly been feeling seemed to flow from his fingertips to hers.

It was overwhelming.

She glanced at him, but his gaze was unwavering, staring through the window, but didn't seem to see anything. His hold on her tightened desperately, and no other part of him moved. She was as desperate as him to hold on to something. She hoped he knew that.

When they reached the house, George and Nora practically made them run into the house. The door was immediately locked behind them.

Still, without a word, George and Nora left them all standing in the living room. They watched as they quickly paced around the house. They heard the sounds of locks clicking everywhere. When they returned into the living room, words were finally spoken.

"Are you hungry?" Nora asked.

Hesitantly, Lizzie and Edwin nodded, and Marti lifted her head from Casey's shoulder.

"Yes." She said in an incredibly small voice.

George nodded, "I'll go find something to make."

"I'll help." Nora said. They both went into the kitchen.

They all looked unsure of what to do, but Lizzie and Edwin slowly headed toward the couch, and sat down. Casey stood there, holding Marti, with Derek near her. Their hands had unfortunately become untangled when they had exited the car, and had never found their way back to each other. Casey glanced at Derek, and for the first time, his eyes met hers. They were so unreadable that she couldn't help but know what he was thinking.

Without saying anything, Derek broke their gaze, and before hesitating, headed upstairs without looking back.

Holding Marti, Casey stood their for a good five minutes, her mind seemingly melted by everything that had happened, until Marti squirmed in her arms.

"You can put me down." She murmured, barely audible.

Casey looked down at the small girl; she looked so different. Older. Much older than a six year old should. But then, she was sure she looked much older than a sixteen year old should.

"It's okay...Smasey." Marti said after a moment.

The three word sentence made Casey want to cry, but she ended up chuckling softly instead, which made Marti give a fragile smile. Casey gently kissed Marti on top of her head before setting her down on the floor. She immediately walked around to the couch, and was welcomed to settle in between Lizzie and Edwin, comfortably, and safely.

The phone rang, and Casey instinctively leaned to pick it up, walking away from the couch.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Casey?" A voice asked, "Erm, hello, this is Officer Spencer."

"Oh, hello, officer." Casey said.

"I've heard what happened. I must say this is becoming more dangerous. I don't think anyone you know is positively safe."

"I've realized that." Casey said dryly.

"Ms. MacDonald-"

"Officer Spencer, unless you have some miraculous lead or way to help, I think this is goodbye."

"Well, you see-"

"Goodbye, Officer Spencer." Casey said, pushing the end button on the phone.

Sighing, Casey held the phone in her hand wondering what to do.

The phone rang again.

"Hello?" Casey asked again.

Static met her ears, "Hello?" She asked again.

"Soon, Casey. Soon." A disguised voice said.

Before she could say anything, the line went dead.

She stood there, numb. Shaking her head, overwhelmed by so many thing, Casey leaned down, and placed the phone on the floor.

Sighing, Casey slowly guided herself upstairs, holding on to the railing the entire time. She wasn't sure what room she should go into. She was almost positive that Derek needed her. But maybe he really meant that he needed to be alone. Deciding, Casey walked up to Derek's bedroom door and gently pushed it open. He was sitting on his bed, with his back turned away from the door, staring out the window. The drizzle continued to stream down everything.

Entering the room, she quietly pushed her back against the door, shutting it.

She didn't move.

Derek's shoulder rose and fell, and then, placing his palms on the bed, he lifted himself up and turned toward her.

She moved.

She stepped toward him, hesitantly raising a hand, the back of it gently swept over his cheek.

"Derek." Casey whispered.

Still wordless, Derek pulled Casey into a hug. And that was the first time Casey ever saw Derek cry.

And she wasn't going to let go until he stopped, whenever that may be.

x—x

For some reason, I thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter. Something about the tone of it. I guess I like being able to delve and dabble in this kind of emotion. Emotion is always an interesting concept for me to work with and I love it to the extreme.

Review, loves.

-Tarryn


	12. Here Then Gone

Okay, another chapter. I dunno how many chapters will be left, but I don't think that there will be that many. Much love to everyone who has been reviewing!

.I own nothing.

Enjoy!

x—x

"How could he know our number?" Derek murmured softly.

Both he and Casey were sitting on his bed, quietly rehashing recent events in their heads.

"Who knows." Casey shrugged, picking at Derek's comforter. "Could have gotten it a million ways."

"True." Derek agreed and then put his head in his hand. "This is getting to be way too much."

"_Getting?"_ Casey asked, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"Okay, it was too much from the very beginning." Derek admitted, nodding his head.

"This is unbelievable." Casey murmured, leaning back to his headboard.

"You getting any psychic vibrations?" Derek asked after a moment.

Casey looked up at him quickly, but felt a bit better when she saw he was joking.

"Shut up, Derek." She said softly, looking at her legs.

Derek shrugged. "You know, Officer Spencer called right before-"

"Derek, don't even go there." Casey warned.

"You don't even know where I was going to go!" Derek defended himself.

"The place where you say that Officer Spencer is creepy and suspicious." Casey said, looking at him knowingly.

"But he is!" Derek cried, raising his hands above his head.

Casey groaned. "See! I told you not to go there."

"What, too predictable for you?" Derek asked with a smirk.

"I just don't think it's him." Casey said.

"Okay, then how come he's the only cop we've talked to?" Derek asked.

"That's the police's fault, not his." Casey said, shaking her head. "They have poor conduct. Big surprise."

"You don't find him remotely suspicious?" Derek asked, looking at her.

Casey paused a moment too long, and Derek pounced.

"I knew it! You think he's shady, too!" Derek cried, pointing at her.

"I didn't say that!" Casey exclaimed.

"You didn't say _anything_." Derek pointed out. "It was silently implied."

"There were no implications!" Casey cried, crossing her arms.

Derek sighed. "Okay, okay. Whatever you say, Madam Casey."

Casey gave him a playful swat on the shoulder. "This is serious!"

"As you've mentioned many times. I know it is!" Derek said.

"You know-" Casey started, but her cell phone rang.

Casey pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Oh my, God, Casey. My parents wouldn't let me go over again, but I heard what happened! Everyone heard what happened! How did you know? You just, like, left without a word, and ended up saving Marti from getting kidnapped! How? Is it true that it was the same dude that tried to stab you guys? And cut the breaks in Derek's car? Is he, like, your stalker now? Are you guys under police surveillance? Are you a target or something? What about Derek? Is he in danger, too? What is going on?"

"Yeah, hi to you too, Em." Casey said into the phone. Derek was smiling next to her, having been able to hear Emily's babbling.

"Oh, hi. So it it true? What's going on?" Emily asked.

Casey sighed. "We don't really know what's going on, Em."

"Well, then how did you know that Marti was in trouble?" Emily remained persistent.

"Um...bad feeling?" Casey answered weakly.

"Wow, this is just all too weird. But it'd be cooler if you'd been having visions about this stuff or something. Then you might have a tv show about you! Oh my, God, how cool would that be? Ooh, who would play you? Or me? Who would play me?"

"Um, Em?" Casey said.

"Uh-uh?"

"Can we stay focused, please?" Casey asked. Derek suppressed laughter next to her.

"Oh, yeah. Okay." Emily said sheepishly.

"Hey, Case, are the trees outside your window moving because of the wind, too?"

Casey glanced out of Derek's window. "Yeah, kind of."

"Oh, okay. You know, I just get weirded out after it rains." Emily said.

"Yeah, I know. It's okay, though." Casey assured her best friend.

"Oh, okay. Well, you know, I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Emily said.

"I'm fine, Em." Casey said.

"Okay. I guess I'm going to go to bed. Stay safe, Case. Derek, too." Emily said.

"Okay. Night, Em." Casey said before she closed the phone.

"That girl can talk." Derek laughed.

"Yeah, but it was nice of her to call, though." Casey said.

"Yeah, it was." Derek agreed before he yawned.

"I think I'm going to go to bed. You should, too." Casey said, getting up from Derek's bed.

Derek stared at her for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, it's been hectic, we should get some rest."

Casey nodded and started for the door.

"Hey, Case?" Derek said.

Casey turned around. "Yeah?"

Derek stood up and walked over to her.

"I just, um, I just wanted to tell you- Erm, I just wanted to say..." Derek looked into her confused eyes and then cleared his throat, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I just wanted to say sweet dreams."

Casey looked at him curiously, but nodded, and then turned, leaving the room.

x—x

_Emily had dirt smeared across her terror stricken face. There was no sound, as if everything had been muted. Her arms and legs were bound, and a shadowed figure dragged her into a cold, dark room._

_The walls were covered in grime, water dripping down them, and rusted pipes leaked onto the dirty floor. Mice crawled along the pipes, skittering silently. Shadows were cast everywhere._

_The man picked Emily up and put her into a chair, and began to tie her to it. She fought against it, her mouth moving in unheard screams. Next to them, Derek lay on the floor, also bound. Another man was kicking him in the side repeatedly. Derek's face was contorted in pain, his mouth opening, probably yelling, screaming. _

_Still no noise. It was deathly quiet. Derek was also tied to a chair. His struggling was useless. Both Emily and Derek fought against there binds, yelling and screaming, without prevail. One of the figures stood in front of both Emily and Derek. He pulled out what was visibly a gun, and slowly aimed it toward Derek who was still seemingly yelling. _

_Everything went black. And in the darkness, the noise finally appeared._

_A single gunshot._

_--_

Casey's eyes snapped open, and she struggled to breath. She sat up and fought against her blankets until she stumbled out of her bed and ran toward the window. Looking down, she looked towards Emily's house. There were police cars outside of it, lights flashing from the sirens.

She gasped and ran from the window, tearing open her bedroom door. She ran out into the hallway, nearly falling as she did.

"Derek!" She screamed. She ran to his door and opened it. It was empty just like she knew it would be. Just like she prayed it wouldn't be. She ran from his room, skidding down the stairs, still hysterically calling out Derek's name.

"Where's Derek?" Casey asked frantically once she slid into the kitchen, where most of the family was. Everyone looked at her curiously.

"He's upstairs, asleep. Casey, what's wrong?" Nora asked, taking a step toward her daughter, but Casey was already running again, straight through the living room and out the door, not even bothering to close the front door behind her. She ran straight to the Davis's where an officer grabbed a hold of her to stop her from running toward the house.

"Miss, you can't-"

"You need to help him!" Casey cried, struggling against him.

"Miss, what are you talking about?" The officer looked down at her, keeping a firm grip on her.

"Derek! Derek! My s-step-brother! He's m-missing, too." Casey cried.

She fought her way out of the officers grasp, and fell to the ground where she started to sob uncontrollably.

x—x

I didn't particularly like this chapter, but this is just how it turned out. I looked it over, and there just wasn't much else I could do with it. Sorry. But I hope it was okay for you guys!

Review, loves!

-Tarryn


	13. Driving Nowhere

Yay, another update! So, I'm really glad you guys like this story! Thanks to all of my wonderful Feedback Monkey reviewers, especially Jo, because, of course, the love she has proclaimed for "tekotaomefen" has inspired me to keep updating. But (not to be ungrateful, because I'm not) I was a wee bit disappointed in the reviews from the last chapter. So come on! Inspire me! (: I hope you guys like this chapter!

.I own nothing.

Enjoy!

x—x

It took ten minutes for Casey to become calm enough to explain the situation. Twenty minutes was spent with Casey trying to convince the police that Emily and Derek hadn't run away together. (The mere thought was completely unbelievable to Casey, but still made her somewhat sick.) And after another half hour the police actually believed her, having been able to pull up the reports of the recent events, like the near stabbing at the school, and the near wreck with Derek's car. Adding in the information about the notes, the phone call the previous night, the clear signs of struggle through out Emily's room, and the fact that there was blood on Derek's window sill, and some on the stones right under his window, the police officially decided that the case was worth calling a kidnapping, even though it was technically still early to even call it a case of missing people.

Casey had refused to go to the police station, just because she didn't want to, an answer the police somewhat grudgingly accepted. By the time the first official hour of Derek and Emily's kidnapping had passed, Casey was sitting on her front porch, one patrol car still parked in front of the Davis's. She held her chin in her her palms and stared at the sidewalk. She wanted to cry, but the tears had seemed to run out. Sadness, fear, and frustration bubbled up inside of her until she sat up and kicked a potted plant that was next to her so that terracotta shattered and soil spread across the porch. She looked at it and sat back down on the porch, placing her head between her knees, trying to regulate her breathing which had suddenly become very fast paced.

She had her eyes tightly shut, trying to block out all noise. Trying to make it as silent as it had been in her vision. As silent as it had been, until the end...

She sighed, lifting her head. She looked around her. The sun was still shining. The birds were still chirping. Sounds of what was going on in the streets in the distance could be heard. It didn't sound like Emily and Derek had been kidnapped. It didn't look like their lives were in danger. But she had seen where they were. And she knew that they were in trouble. She ran her hand through her hair.

_I saw them. _She thought to herself. _What was the point of the vision if I couldn't help them? Why couldn't I help them?_

She kept thinking the same thing, kicking herself for not being able to do anything. It had already clicked in her mind that it had probably been more than the wind outside of Emily's window. And she hadn't caught it. After everything that had been happening, she hadn't been on guard. She became so lost in her thoughts that she jumped up when her cell phone began to ring in the pocket of her jeans (Which the cops had let her change into quickly before really starting the questioning). Once she was able to recover from the surprise, she pulled her phone out. And then she nearly dropped it when she read the caller id. She quickly opened it.

"Derek?" She asked, silently praying that his voice would be on the other line.

_It's him. He and Emily escaped. He's fine. Everything will be okay. It's over._

"Hello, Casey."

Casey's heart sank when the same disguised voice from the night before met her ears.

"Where are they?" Casey asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"You really want to know?" The voice asked.

"Yes, I really want to know." Casey snapped, her voice became edgy as anger started to bubble again.

"Then you get up, you get into a car, and you start driving. Don't tell anyone where you're going. Better yet, don't even let anyone know you're leaving. And no cops Casey. Because if there are cops, there are lifeless bodies."

Casey's heart beat fast against her chest. "And exactly where am I supposed to drive to?"

"I'll tell you when you start driving." The voice said sharply.

Casey grimaced but got up and opened the front door as quietly as she could. Everyone was dispersed amongst the house, Marti simply inconsolable. Part of the reason she needed to do this. As most of the police were leaving, Marti had come up and hugged Casey's leg, her face tear stained, and looked up at her.

"You'll save him, right Smasey?" Marti looked up at her, new tears forming. "You'll save him like you saved me, right?"

Casey had looked down at Marti, her heart breaking even more than it felt it already had.

"Of course I will."

She barely stepped into the house, and was able to pull the key's to her mom and George's car off of the table next to the door, before slipping back out of the house. Holding the phone to her ear, she opened the car door and slid in, turning the ignition. She was able to make it down the street and onto the main road without a problem. (The officer had appeared to be asleep. _Nice._)

"Okay, I'm driving. Care to fill me in on where?" Casey said into the phone.

She knew what she was doing was incredibly stupid, and equally as dangerous, but she couldn't get herself to focus on that. All she could think about was helping Derek and Emily. She _had _to help Derek and Emily.

The voice rattled off unfamiliar directions to Casey, but she knew she'd find it. The only thing she recognized about the place she was headed to was that it was not nearby.

"Couldn't have just made it down the street?" Casey asked sarcastically.

"If you ever want to see your best friend and your boyfriend again, I'd drop the attitude." The voice warned.

"Derek isn't my boyfriend." Were the only words Casey managed to murmur as her heart sped up again.

The voice laughed. "Well, he'll never get the chance to be if you don't learn to keep your mouth shut."

In the background noise suddenly broke out. Casey immediately recognized Derek's voice, and her racing heart jumped.

"Don't listen to him Case! Stay away-" Derek was cut off, most likely by some form of violence because she heard him grunt in pain, and could just barely hear Emily's muffled screams of fear.

"Dammit, Clarence! Use more tape!" The voice yelled to his comrade.

For a moment, Casey lost all relevant thought. "His name is _Clarence_?"

"What did I say about keeping your mouth shut?" The voice asked heatedly. "Just shut up and follow the directions. We'll be waiting."

There was an ominous click and Casey threw her cell down onto the seat next to her. She had been hung up on! By a creepy, murderous kidnapper! The anger she had felt before was fully bubbling inside her, making her want to scream, to yell, to hit. And that, she decided, is what she would do.

It took Casey and hour and a half of driving to become remotely close to where she was supposed to be. She realized that Emily and Derek had to have been taken pretty early in order for them to have gotten to the place and gotten ready, tying them up. Maybe torturing them...

The more she drove, the angrier she got.

She thought of her best friend. She thought of Emily's family, who loved her so much. It must be so quiet in there house without her talking. She thought of her family. Edwin, who was missing his role model, his older brother. Lizzie, who was missing the boy that became her older brother. George missing his eldest son, her mom missing the boy that she had began to love as a son. And Marti. Marti waiting for her best friend in the entire world to come home.

And herself. She thought of how she missed Derek. So much more than she would have ever imagined. How she was scared for Derek. How she needed to help Derek. How she needed Derek.

When she knew she was close to where the voice had instructed her to go, her heart began to race furiously again. What would she find there? What was going to happen.

Warily, she found herself parking in front of a building. It was nothing spacial. It was somewhat ramshackle, but nothing about said that inside was rats, grime, psychopaths, and hostages. When she took the keys out of the ignition, she sat in the car silently for several minutes. She was almost afraid to go in. Not afraid for herself. Afraid that she was too late. Afraid that what she would find would hurt more than if she had been kidnapped and beaten.

Casey took a deep breath, knowing that no matter what, Emily and Derek needed her. She slowly pocketed the keys and opened the car door, letting her feet hit the ground. She quietly closed the door and made her way toward the building's door. She paused when she reached it, but took another deep breath, and pulled open the door. She hesitantly stepped inside, letting the door close behind her. It was dark, but as she slowly walked her eyes adjusted, and she could see a little better. And she could see that she wasn't in the room from her vision. But as her eyes focused on a figure in the middle of the room, she knew that she was close.

Casey took a small step, and narrowed her eyes, trying to see better. And then she gasped.

"Officer Spencer?"

"Hello, Casey." He said, taking a step closer, making his face more visible.

x—x

Muahahaha.

It looks short, but it's not, really.

Review, loves.

-Tarryn


	14. Changing Time

I'm really sorry that is has taken me so long to update! I love all of you who reviewed, and I love all of you who read and didn't review, I would just love you more if you reviewed. Anyhow, I appreciated all the reviews, and enjoyed reading your reactions, but I must say that I do believe that I'll enjoy your reactions for this chapter even more. (:

Hehe, enjoy reading, my loves!

.I own nothing.

x—x

Casey blinked several times, looking at Officer Spencer, only feet from her, in a place straight out of her nightmares. It was definitely him. There was no doubting that. He stood there, just as he had in the hospital. He spoke, just as he had on the phone the previous night. And yet...

"No." Casey said, shaking her head. "No, this isn't right."

"Casey-" Officer Spencer took a step toward her.

Clapping echoed, spreading through the dark room, causing Casey to tear her gaze from Officer Spencer to look for the source. She found it when another figure stepped from a dark corner, still clapping as he walked toward Officer Spencer.

"I really have underestimated you, Casey. You're too smart for your own good, really." The man said. It was _him._ He pushed Officer Spencer aside. The man, seemingly weak, fell to the floor. Casey noticed for the first time that his hands were tied behind his back.

"Tell me, how could you tell that it wasn't this idiot?" He asked cocking his head toward where Officer Spence lie on the floor.

"All of this was already too cliché for it's own good." Casey spat. The man smiled.

"Well, aren't we clever?" He idled for a moment before bending over and roughly pulling Officer Spencer up off the ground. "Come on." He smiled menacingly. "Let's get this party started."

Casey forced herself to move and follow the twisted man in the dim light. She quickly realized that the place was much larger than she had thought. As they moved through room after room and down endless amounts of halls all Casey could hear were their footsteps, dripping water, and the occasional grunt from Officer Spencer.

"I really should thank you." Casey's head snapped when she heard the man's voice. She looked at him and he was smirking at her cruelly.

"And to what do I deserve such an honor?" Casey asked sarcastically, narrowing her eyes at him in disdain.

"You gave me something to do." He said. Casey felt as though his smirk had become even more sinister as her heart beat against her chest.

When Casey didn't immediately respond with some sort of witticism he continued.

"See, all I was going to do was knock out a kid who seemed like some pathetic little fun. But then you and your incest tryst came and went all heroic on me. Really gave me something to curve my boredom."

"Oh, I'm ecstatic I could help feed your psychotic need to torture and stalk." Casey sneered.

"I'm glad, too." He said. "Just as glad that my uncle here was such help."

Casey's jaw dropped. "Your...what?"

Officer Spencer, who had remained silent,trudging along, suddenly tried to pull out of the psycho's grip, but was too worn down.

"Yeah, Uncle Spencer." The man articulated. "Pretty lucky that a nutcase like me would have such a prominent federal authority figure as family. Really helped me out. Not that he wanted to, but he couldn't much help it."

Casey gave him a disgusted look.

"Me and Clarence took over the situation. I think we've handled it pretty well, don't you? Our plan is pretty 'Scream'. Make Uncle Spencer look like the crazy one. He'll 'kill' you and your friends, and then himself. The cops will find his prints on the notes and his number traced to the calls. Simple, simple."

Casey felt like she was going to fall over and throw up her intestines.

"You're a sick bastard." Casey whispered.

The man looked at her and chuckled. "Please tell me you're not just coming to that conclusion." He shook his head. "It's almost a shame you're going to die. I might hold off on killing all of you for a while just to enjoy some time with you. You're just so cute."

Casey turned her head away from him so that he wouldn't see the look of fear that had covered her face. She shivered, trying to calm herself down.

They continued to walk and Casey's mind raced. Were Derek and Emily okay? The psycho talked as though they were okay...for the time being. Were they all going to make it out okay? Who was Clarence, was he small, and could she take him out herself?

She wanted it all to be a dream. Everything from the very start. From that morning where she had the first dream/vision, to now. She wanted to wake up to Derek hogging the bathroom and laugh at the pure absurdity of her dream.

"Move!" Casey looked up and only realized that she had stopped walking.

"Get in." The man said, smiling. "We're where you came to be."

Casey glared at him but did as she was told and walked toward the entrance. Before she could pass through it though, the man grabbed her shoulder and spun her towards him.

"The name's Joe." He looked at her and grinned. "Just so you know." He leaned in and pressed his lips against her cheek causing her to shiver and goosebumps to erupt over her body. And not in a good way.

The psycho newly known as Joe pushed Casey away before grabbing a hold of Officer Spencer who he had pushed against the wall while he grabbed Casey.

Disgusted, Casey walked through the threshold, every muscle in her body tense.

She gasped as she walked into the room, Derek and Emily both tied to chairs like in her vision. A man stood in the corner of the room. The room was so dark that it was hard to see, but a single light bulb hung from the ceiling casting a dim glow over things.

As soon as Casey had entered the room Derek had begun to buck and rocked against his binds causing the chair to lean back and forth. She could hear him grunt as he tried to yell through the tape over his mouth.

Emily was silent and motionless. The only thing that stopped Casey from panicking to the extreme was the Emily was visibly blinking.

"Derek! Emily!" Casey called out, trying to run toward them, but Joe grabbed a hold of her shoulder with a free hand and pulled her back so that her back slammed against his chest.

"Tsk, tsk." Joe whispered into her ear. "Sudden movements tend to make Clarence antsy."

Casey clenched her teeth, choosing not to look at Joe with the anger she felt. Instead she kept her eyes fixated on Emily and Derek with only one thing running through her mind: _They need to get out of here safely even if I don't._

After a minute Joe released Casey's arm, the grip of which had left finger marks. Casey took a deep breath and quickly made her way across the room to where Derek and Emily were, Derek still fighting against his binds.

"And don't try anything, girlie. We may be crazy, but we're not stupid." Joe's voice caused chills to run down Casey's spine.

Derek stopped rocking once Casey was kneeling down in front of his and Emily's chairs. The wall behind the seats had a visible hole in it; small but visible. A bullet hole. Her vision had already come true but not the way she had thought. Something she immediately thanked God for. But they were armed.

Casey looked at Emily who looked pale and in shock. It broke her heart to see her best friend like that. Derek didn't take his eyes off of her and was trying to speak through the tape but it came out as mumbling and Casey didn't dare try and remove the tape. But Casey could tell that Derek was trying to tell her something and her eyes roved over him and the seat until she saw the looseness of the rope on his arms. Joe and Clarence hadn't notice that Derek had gotten himself free and could get up at any moment.

Her heart beating fast she slowly looked around to see if the small plan that had begun to formulate during her long drive was possible. Looking from the light on the ceiling to the rubbled and dirty floor Casey's hand moved to her ankle patting the unnoticeable bulge. She looked back at Emily and then her eyes rested on Derek. She let her head slightly nod toward Emily giving Derek unspoken directions.

"Trust me." Casey whispered. Derek barely nodded his head but looked at her intently.

Casey took a deep breath and then quickly snatched up a large rock from the ground and threw it at the light dangling from the ceiling. It hit the bulb which shattered instantly.

And the room went pitch black.

x—x

I'm so sorry that it's short, and I'm extremely sorry if it's crappy but I didn't want to make you guys wait any more. I hope that you guys will be nice and give me lots of feedback love. I know that the whole mess about the LwD seasons and dasey has got a lot of us bummed. (Truth be told I'm not even sure what's going on, but I have a feeling that I should just cover my ears and sing 'LA LA LA' and live in my own happy Dasey land forevermore.) We Dasey lovers need to stay strong and keep producing as many stories as possible.

Review, loves.

-Tarryn


	15. Deep Impact

Oh. My. God. I know, I know. I swear, all of my author's notes are all apologies for not writing more. I'm horrible. Just horrible. Plus, I think my writing has been just retched, and I'm quite disappointed, especially in this, and a few other stories I've got. I can't believe I haven't updated this since 2007. But I refuse to completely give up on my stories. I don't care how long it take, I WILL finish them. I'm so sorry, guys. Please don't have abandoned me!

.I own nothing. (Especially not an actual ability to write well, or efficiently.)

x—x

As soon as she was plunged into a darkness so smothering that it seemed to envelope her Casey began to regret her split second action.

Now, not only could she not see anything, there were two armed psychopaths ready to kill her and her friends. _Great, Case. Good job. _

She immediately moved back from where she had been standing in fear that Joe or Clarence would plunge toward that spot.

"DAMMIT!" Joe's voice broke through making Casey shake. "Can't you just be weak and accept your fate? This defiance thing isn't amusing, you stupid little bitch."

Casey gasped when she felt a hand on her wrist, her heart pounding harder than it already had. But when she heard Derek's voice whisper into her ear she found herself able to release the breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"I've got Emily." He whispered. "What do we do?"

_Good question._

Holding on to Derek's arm who was holding onto Emily, Casey walked them slowly away from where they were, trying to sense where the others were. It had become dead silent, and Casey's whole body tingled with an anticipation mixed with fear and lingering paranoia. Casey feared that Joe had already found Clarence and they were inching toward them.

Cautiously, Casey bent down and carefully pulled out a pocket knife that she had hidden in between her shoe, sock and pant leg, which she had shoved there during the car ride when she remembered that she kept it tucked in the glove compartment for 'just in case' protection. You could never be too careful. Especially, it turns out, when you have premonition-like dreams and a psychopath out to get you with a deadly need for vengeance.

Who knew, huh?

Derek must have sensed what she was doing, since he leaned closer to her so that she could feel his unsteady breath on her skin.

"Casey, don't be stupid." His voice was small and seemed far away, leaving Casey almost straining to comprehend his words. Hopefully this would mean that their enemies wouldn't be able to hear them at all.

"I'm not being stupid. I gotta say, I'm being pretty smart." Casey murmured, truly believing her words even though her voice shook slightly as she said them.

"Yeah, plunging us into darkness was _real _smart." Derek quipped.

Casey, chose to ignore this, though his words gave her a strange comfort. Derek and sarcasm was something she knew well. Warm and familiar, if only slightly.

She continued to inch them slowly toward what she hoped was an exit. The room remained eerily silent until the sound of a rock being scraped across the floor somewhere not far behind them caused them to stop. Casey's blood seemed to run cold.

"Casey." She heard Joe's voice coo and it overwhelmed her senses so much that she could not tell where it came from. It sounded like it was all around her.

Derek reached down and laced his fingers with hers. She found herself looking down at her hand, even though she knew she couldn't see it.

Taking a deep breath she began to move again as silently as she could until her hand reached out and felt the wall. Her breath caught again when she thought she heard whispering, but then it was even more unnerving how quiet her foes were being. Joe could have been right in front of her face and she'd have no idea until he struck a blow.

Casey continued to walk with one hand in Derek's and one trailing the wall in front of her. She tried to keep her breathing light, which wasn't really a problem since she was barely breathing anyway.

And then, suddenly, just as Casey's fingers touched the door was the exact moment that Emily's scream pierced the darkness. As Derek let go of her grasp to help Emily, Casey lunged for the handle, pushing it open. Dim light from beyond the room was just enough to see what was happening around her among the screaming and yelling.

Derek had pushed Emily out of the way and was struggling against Joe as Clarence headed toward them. Officer Spencer was on the ground in the far corner of the room. Clarence, instead of going for Joe and Derek neared her instead.

"Come here, girlie." He said ruefully as he closed in on her with a glint in his eyes.

"Back off, jackass." Casey warned, waving the pocket knife in front of her.

Clarence smirked before pulling out a long, sharp knife from where he had had it tucking in a sheath near his belt.

"I think I've got you beat, missy." He said.

Oops.

Thinking quickly, Casey glanced behind him and said, "Officer Spencer, how'd you get loose?"

Just as she had hoped, Clarence's eyes widened and turned to see where Officer Spencer was still on the ground in the corner.

Casey's dancing background came in handy as she swiftly kicked the knife out of his hands. Clarence turned and glared at her and then began to head toward her once more, but once he was near enough, Casey swung out her leg and kicked him in the groin.

"Holy shit!" He groaned as he dropped to his knees.

Casey took the opportunity to lunge for where she had kicked the knife. She moved swiftly, but then felt something heavy come in contact with her legs. She stumbled and threw out her arms to try and regain balance, her own knife tumbling from her grip and skidding across the floor.

She turned to see that Clarence had thrown his body toward her and stuck out his heavy arm while she had been moving. Then he reached out and grabbed a hold of one of her legs. Before she could react, he pulled her down to the ground with a thud. Moving his hand farther up her leg as he pulled, he dragged her closer to him.

Casey threw out her hands in front of her, beating against him as he let go of her leg and grabbed one of her wrists. She screamed as he looked her in the eyes. He was smiling gleefully, obviously gaining a sick pleasure from the whole thing.

Unwilling to yield, Casey continued to strike blows to Clarence's head as he pulled her torso of the ground by her wrist. In turn she twisted her head so that she could sink he teeth into the soft flesh of his hand that was wrapped around her wrist. He let out a yowl of pain, relinquishing his grip causing her to fall back on the hard ground once again. Casey took this opportunity to clench her hand into a fist, immediately drawing back and them slamming it into Clarence's nose.

She was extremely satisfied by the sickening crunching sound she was greeted with as soon as her fist hit his nasal cartilage, causing his head to fly backwards.

Casey pushed herself from the ground, stepping away from her assailant. He was crouched on the ground with his hand to his face, blood gushing from his nose. As he was distracted, Casey again took advantage by stepping forward and kicking him in the gut with as much force as she could muster. She followed this action with several more blows to the stomach and one to the head. When she stopped she realized that she had managed to knock him unconscious, an extreme relief.

She realized that as she had been defending herself she had been completely unaware of anything going on around her. All sounds had been muted and now they were back in full blast. And it didn't sound very pleasant.

She turned to see Emily pressed against a wall, silently crying. Several feet away, Derek was straddling Joe, trying to both pin his arms down and swing at him simultaneously. His hold on Joe didn't seem very strong or look like it would last much longer. Taking in the scene before her she also noted that during their struggle they had gone through a situation seemingly similar to hers and the knife. Only it wasn't a knife they had struggled for control of.

It was a gun, if the one tossed not far behind them was any indication.

Before Casey could make a move to assist Derek, though she had no idea what to do, Joe had managed to push him off. He clambered to a standing position as Derek pushed himself from the ground as well. Joe's first move was to jump in the direction of the gun, but Derek shot himself in front of him, taking a blow to the side as Joe tried to move him from his goal.

As Derek doubled over from the hit Joe made another attempt for the gun. This time Casey lunged forward, throwing herself at Joe. Instead of falling over as she had hoped, he remained balanced as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around her back. He swung his body in an attempt to throw her off, but she retaliated by reaching up and scraping her long nails across his face, digging in as hard as she could manage.

Joe screamed, managing to thrust his elbow back into her hard enough to cause her grip on him to fail so that she fell. When she opened her eyes, Joe was on top of Derek, who was belly down on the ground, stretching his arm out to try and grab the gun. Joe pushed Derek over onto his back and punched him in the face.

Casey, who wasn't far from the gun, either, began to crawl toward it, but she came too close to Joe and Derek, and Joe was able to reach out and backhand her while he was on top of Derek. Casey fell backward and Joe got in another punch to Derek's face before jumping off of him toward the gun. He grabbed it.

He stood up as Casey and Derek did. Neither step-sibling thought as they rushed toward Joe. Thinking wasn't a huge priority of the moment. They both struggled to disarm Joe. They were huddled together, swaying, fighting for control of the gun.

One shot was fired.

A second followed in quick succession.

All three wide-eyed with fear, drifted slightly apart, staring at each other.

And then Joe pitched forward, causing Derek and Casey to move farther apart in order to avoid being taken down by his weight as he fell. He landed face first in the floor, Clarence's deadly long knife sticking out of his back, wedged in to the hilt. Emily stood behind him, breathing heavily with a panic-stricken, tear-stained face.

Emily slowly looked up from Joe's body, and at Casey and Derek who stared at her in disbelief and relief. All she managed to do was sink down to the ground and place her head on her knees as she began to sob.

Derek breathed in a full breath, feeling oxygen hit places within his body that it had not reached for the last few hours as he had scarcely been breathing. His gaze turned to Casey, and he smiled. But his smiled turned into a look of confusion as there was something not right about the look on her face.

Casey pressed her hand to her side tightly. When she withdrew to look at her hand she saw it covered in her own crimson blood. Unsure of what to do, Casey smiled weakly at Derek.

"We did it." She murmured, her head beginning to swim as the reality of the pain began to hit her. The feeling was so bitter and aching that Casey could only find it as somewhat humorous.

But one thing was for sure: For once, she managed to not pass out.

x—x

Alright people, I desperately tried to make this better than the crap that I have been prone to submit, however long ago it may have been. I sincerely hope that you guys like this, and I'm hoping I get reviews. Oh, how reviews would make me glow. Seriously, when I hear from you guys I feel like I'm doing something worthwhile. I may suck, but you guys are great!

Review, loves.

-Tarryn


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